Artesia's Little India feels widespread impact of immigration raids

ARTESIA, Calif. (KABC) -- Many South Asian businesses and restaurants line an area off Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia fondly known as Little India.

However, life in the community has really slowed down since federal immigration raids began across Southern California.

Hina Ahmad, with the South Asian Network, a nonprofit organization that serves South Asian residents and provides resources like legal and mental health services, said fear over immigration enforcement has paralyzed the vibrant neighborhood.

"This is one of the most popping places on Pioneer," Ahmad said. "All the tables usually are full. There's food going out. There's a lot of noise, but as you can see there's really nobody here."

"We're seeing a lot of folks kind of staying inside keeping to themselves," added Sumouni Basu, the organization's immigration attorney.

They said community members are too scared to go outside.

"They're too scared to get groceries, they're too scared to get food," Ahmad said.

According to numbers from UC Berkeley Law's Deportation Data Project, more than three dozen South Asian nationals - 33 people from India, seven from Afghanistan, two from Bangladesh - have been arrested this year by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

South Asian Network doesn't believe the data reflects the real number of people arrested.

Ahmad said there's a cultural stigma around issues like immigration so some may be ashamed sharing what is going on in their families.

"If it might put the rest of their family members in danger they might not want to talk about it," Ahmad said.

The organization said South Asians love coming together, but the uncertainty of who is targeted in immigration raids will limit socializing until they feel safe.

"A lot of people are coming to us just scared of not knowing what they can do... Even people with status are coming to us like, 'Can I travel? Is that OK? Is something going to happen when I come back?'" Basu said.

The network said the language barrier is also making things more complicated since South Asian languages are less common than English or Spanish.

The group is handing out "know your rights" information in several languages to help people during this time.